The golden trio plus one
by Nerdified Elf
Summary: Lindy Owens just moved to England and already got into a fight and gained a new friend.This black-haired, four-eyed boy is as outcast as she is.But when Harry and a giant show up at her door,things will never be the same. I'll try to stick to the books.
1. A new friend

**If you've read my earlier stories, you are propbably yelling at the screen and at me. I know that I only wanted to do one fanfiction at a time, but I'm typing so many other things, that I figgered "Eh, what the hell?"**

**I had been thinking, "Its really stupid that no one wanted to be Harry's friend in muggle school." So I started typing and here is the first chapter! **

I was eleven when I moved to England. My parents told me about the move ON my elventh birthday as a matter fact . I had just blown out the candles on my cake and smiled up at my mom and dad who said, "And this day gets even more exciting! We're moving to England!" That wiped the smile right off.

I was so upset, I pushed the cake off the table and ran to my room, locking myself in it for the rest of the day. My clock glowed 10:00 p.m. when the hunger finally won me out. I opened my door and crept downstairs.

I snuck into the kitchen and froze in mid-step when the lights flicked on. Mom was standing in the doorway and dad was sitting at the island.

They led me over to the dining room table. They sat me down and began to explain. We were going to England mainly because my dad was stationed there now.

They said "You'll love it in England Lindy! You can make more friends! We will be staying at your Grandfather's house. You'll get a princess bed and a nice big room! Doesn't that sound wonderful?"

I got up and cried "No it doesn't! I don't want to have a princess bed! I want to stay here with my friends!I don't want to move anymore!" They just shook their heads and said "We're sorry but that's not up to you."

"I hate you!" I screamed and ran, sobbing, to my room. That was over a month ago. I now lived in England, the Christmas holidays were over, and I was to start my new school tomorrow.

**(PAGE BREAK)**

"Sigh" My new school had plants and gardens all around it, but it still looked dark and forbidding. Luckily they didn't have a dress code so I could wear my American clothes. I had on my new blue jeans, a long sleeve shirt and a blue jean jacket over it. I had topped it off with a light green beanie.

"Oh well. Here goes nothing." I trudged up to the building. With a little help, I found my first class. The teacher, Mr. Harvey, introduced me to the class and told me to pick a seat. All the rows nearest to the door, were filled. There was a completely empty row right next to the windows.

I chose the one farthest in the back so I could watch the trees dance and sway in the breeze. There was only one other kid back there and he sat right next to me.

He had black hair that stuck up randomly, had glasses like me, and was dressed in clothes way too big for him. I watched him curiously as I took off my jacket and removed my black, curly hair from my hat. He felt me staring at him and glanced up. He had the most vivid green eyes I had ever seen.

I gave a small wave. His eyes widened in shock. _"ohhhkaaaay... Weird." _I had no clue what to do then, so I just concentrated on what the teacher was saying.

The class passed without any other weirdness. The next two classes were fairly boring. In my fourth period, there was a rather large child with blonde hair. He blocked my way and pushed me into a desk.

"Watch it." He growled. "Watch yourself. Shouldn't be too hard." I snapped. He turned to reply, only to stop and stare at me. I didn't know what his problem was, but I wasn't going to wait around to find out. I glared at him and shoved past.

I took a seat and plopped my backpack onto the ground. To my great surprise the blonde kid sat down next to me. He stuck out his hand "Dudley Dursley. And you are?" I didn't take his hand but said "I'm Lindy Owens."

I bent down and yanked my notebook from my growing backpack. I slapped it on the desk, flipped to a fresh page and started to write down the instructions on the board.

Dudley was persistent. "So are you new here? Where are you from then?" I sighed inside. "I'm from America if you _must _know." He laughed. "America! What a lame country. Only an idiot would live there. I guess that's why you moved here." My blood boiled. _"Idiot? What a jerk." _

"You're a jerk and I'm going to ignore you." I told him in the calmest voice I could muster. Before he could answer, the teacher began the lesson. When the bell rang, I strode out of the classroom and away from Dudley.

I didn't see him again until lunch. I had gotten my food and paid for it, when I saw Dudley beating up the kid with glasses. A crowd surrounded them and they chanted, "_Fight, fight, FIGHT!" _

I didn't think twice as I dropped my tray and rushed over to them. I pulled Dudley off of the other kid screaming for him to stop. He fell on his butt and I kneeled down next to the kid with glasses.

Dudley's cronies helped him to his feet and as he dusted himself off, he glared at me. I glared right back. "Think that just because you're a girl, you can push me and get away with it? I'm going to teach you the meaning of respect here." He exclaimed.

He lurched forward, reaching for me. Frightened, I shoved the heel of my hand up on his nose. With a crunch, it was broken.

He yelled and held his hand to his nose. Blood dripped from his fingertips. "What's going on here?" A man with a bald head, stalked over.

"Harry and that girl ganged up on me. The girl broke my nose." Dudley tattled, pointing at us with his free hand. "My name is _Lindy._"I hissed. The man grabbed my arm and hauled the k-Harry to his feet.

"Everyone, get back to lunch!" He ordered the crowd away. When they dissipated, he bent down and looked me in the eye. "Maybe it's because you're new here Ms. Lindy, but we don't tolerate fighting. And you know that rule extremely well Mr. Potter!" He snarled.

I didn't like him, so I nick-named him Baldy. Baldy still held on to us as he led us to the headmaster's office. Baldy shoved us down in wooden chairs and left us in the waiting room.

I crossed my arms and fumed in silent fury for a minute. I cracked my fingers one at a time and slowly let go of my anger. At least I _knew _that I had done the right thing. I turned to the kid, "So Harry, - that _is _your name right?"

He nodded. "Ok... So Harry, um..." I asked the first thing that came to my mind. "Are you ok? You aren't hurt are you? Well besides being bruised from being punched or a black eye." I rambled.

When I paused, he was staring at me again, as if I had asked if he wanted to commit mass murder. "Um... so, uh... ok then... Why are you staring at me?"

"Oh! It's just that, I didn't expect you to be nice to me." He mumbled and averted his eyes. "Why wouldn't I be nice, I just met you?"

"Well, considering the rumors that you've probably heard..." He trailed off. "Wait, you're _that_ Harry?" I exclaimed.

He winced and nodded again, "Go ahead, laugh, and call me names." He muttered. I had heard stories about him all day, but I shook my head, "I wouldn't do that. Rumors are rumors after all."

He started in surprise, "You don't mind me being..._odd_?" I grinned for the first time that day. "_Everyone_ is weird in their own little way."

He gave a small smile that grew larger as we started giggling like the children we were. The laughter faded but the smiles remained.

"I don't even know your name." Harry said. "I'm Lindy Owens, I moved here from America." I offered my hand. He shook it, "Lindy... That's a pretty cool name. And all the way from America! What's it like there?"

I told him about my old friends, how we moved around the country a lot because of my dad being in the military, and I told him about my parents.

"Hey, why was Dudley beating you up?" I asked when I had run out of things to tell him about me. "You know Dudley already? I guess you don't know that he's my cousin though. He and my aunt and uncle hate me." He scratched his hand.

"WHAT! Dudley is your cousin and he's hitting you! Why I oughta..." I growled. "Don't worry about it. They treat me well enough." I let the matter drop because he seemed uncomfortable.

We had been waiting for about ten minutes and soon, the secretary informed us that the headmaster would see us now. We shuffled inside his office and sat back down, bowing our heads with guilty looks.

The headmaster was stern, but understanding. I said that I had pulled Dudley off of Harry and when Dudley came at me, I defended myself. I ended up getting a day of detention and a note home, while Harry got a week's worth of detention for 'starting the fight'.

He dismissed us and we left. It turned out we had the next class together, so we both showed up late.

I breathed a sigh of relief when the final bell rang. I hoisted my bag onto my back and plodded toward the entrance. Dudley had been sent home early.

I was sitting on the curb outside the front of the school waiting for my mom to pick me up. Harry was lingering about the school doors and I waved him over.

"Why are you still here?" I asked as he joined me. "I'm a bit reluctant to go home. No doubt Dudley's told my aunt and uncle all they need to know that I'm to blame."

"That's not very fair." I frowned. "I guess I'll have to go home eventually. Otherwise, it could get worse." I nudged my glasses farther up my nose, "Well do you at least want a ride? It's going to rain any minute now."

"That'd be great, thanks!" He said.

My mom drove up right as the first drops came down. She clicked a button on her car keys and the minivan's door slid open. We hopped inside, Harry and I cleaning our glasses.

"Mom, this is Harry Potter. Can we give him a ride home?" I buckled my seat-belt. "Sure! Wow Lindy, only one day and a new friend!"

"_Probably my only friend thanks my new reputation." _I thought in my head. "Um, I have a note from the headmaster." I said in a small voice.

It's a good thing she was at a stoplight, because she most likely would have slammed on her brakes if we were moving. "Lindy Cynthia Owens! You managed to find a friend _and _get in trouble? I am very upset with you young lady!"

She went on to say how I was going to be grounded and how my dad would be angry. Well I didn't expect him to be throwing daises and singing praises.

I rolled my eyes at Harry, about to comment on the over reaction of mothers, when I noticed he had a sad gleam in his eye.

We arrived in Harry's neighborhood and stopped in front of number four, Privet Drive. Harry climbed out of the van and took his bag. Before he could move, it slipped off his shoulder and hit the ground.

It split and books lay wet on the pavement. I jumped out and helped him pick up his things. I carried an armful of his stuff to the door.

I handed him the books and he thanked me. "I'll see you tomorrow, I hope. That is if they don't ground me." I smiled softly, "Don't worry; I'll still be your friend, no matter what they tell me."

We said our goodbyes and parted. He disappeared into the house as I vanished into the car.

**(PAGE BREAK)**

Harry didn't come to school for a whole week. I watched for him at first period, lunch and fifth period every day. It was the next Monday, when he came into lunch late.

I had sat down and was gulping my milk, making sure it didn't dribble down my neck. I choked on it when Harry sat down in front of me.

"Oh sorry!" He apologized as I grabbed my napkin and pressed it to my mouth. I coughed and croaked out, "No you startled me is all."

I wiped my mouth off, crumpled the napkin, and lobbed it into the trashcan. Harry was without a tray or bag.

He said that his uncle had not given him any lunch and he was far too broke to even buy an apple. I rummaged through my bag and produced a mars bar.

I tossed it to him. "Here, you need this more than I do." He caught it in amazement. "These are my favorite!" He tore it open and bit into the chocolate.

I promised to bring something for him every day. Lunch was over quickly and we walked to grammar together.

After school, I walked with him to his house. I learned a lot about him. He was an orphan, both parents dead, and was taken in by his uncle and aunt when he was a baby.

He told me of how he had figured out how to stay on his uncle's good side and how he avoided Dudley. We came up to Harry's house when he finished retelling his life story.

We waved goodbye and I went home. I hoped Harry would be coming tomorrow. I also hoped we would be friends for a long time. In fact, I was sure we would.

**Mmmmm, now I want a Mars bars! My sister brought me one from London and they are soooo good. Please review!**


	2. A letter

**I feel kind of guilty, writing this. I should be focusing on my LOTR story. But I couldn't help it! I love Harry Potter too much!**

**turtleguy1997 reviewed suggesting I paragraph with the dialogue so I did! Hope you approve turtleguy!**

**I do not own Harry Potter. Dear lord I wish I did. Then Fred would be alive :)**

February, March, and April passed. Harry came to be my only friend. I would get glares from Dudley and his gang, but I didn't pay them any attention.

Harry still got beat up by his cousin. Sometimes, I would be there to help Harry and other times, I would take him to the nurse's office.

In the middle of May, Harry disappeared. Not really, he just didn't come to school. At first I thought nothing of it; He got locked in his cupboard for a few days sometimes.

This time however, Harry was absent for a month. The summer holidays started and I spent my time my first week in boredom.

My parents had gotten me a bike, so I took it out for a ride. I rode all around town and into the countryside a little ways. I came back hot and sweaty.

I parked my bike behind the little shed in my Grandfather's garden. The back door creaked as I came into the kitchen.

I was climbing the stairs when the bell rang. I argued with myself, to either ignore it because I was the only one home besides my Grandfather or answer the door. The latter side won.

I peeked out the peephole. I saw a convex image of Harry shifting nervously on my doorstep. I flung the door open.

"Harry! I can say it's an unexpected surprise to see you." When he saw me, he relaxed.

"I wasn't sure if I got the right house." He chuckled. I invited him in.

"I thought you had skipped town or something. You were gone for a while."

"I'm just trying to avoid the house now that Dudley can torment me all the time." He explained. I led him up to my room, thanking the lord that I had cleaned it.

My Grandfather's house was two stories. My room was on the second floor, with a bay window that looked over the garden.

The colors were royal blue and gold trim. It was pretty bright, but I claimed it when we moved here.

He told me about Dudley's disastrous birthday trip to the zoo, the boa constrictor, and how he got locked in his cupboard for it. I was stunned; glass doesn't just vanish.

This strange incident brought up a recently forgotten memory. I was eight years old and was sitting cross-legged on the sofa. Mom was outside gardening which meant that I couldn't bother her.

My parents wouldn't let me get a puppy, so I was planning on how to convince to change their minds. I was getting more and more frustrated until the vase on the table next to me exploded.

I screamed and mom came running in. I told her what happened and she scolded me for breaking the vase. She didn't believe that I didn't touch it.

I was yanked out of my memory when Harry called my name.

"That's pretty odd. I'm sorry that you got locked in for it."

We decided to let it go and play outside. We ran through the garden, hiding and popping out at each other and scaring the other. I showed Harry my bike and how to ride it.

He learned quickly enough and soon he was pedaling down the road and back. I cheered when he would pass me. We spent the rest of the day exploring the woods.

Nearly every day for the next 2 months, Harry would come over to my house. One time, Harry didn't come for a week and I was only slightly worried. So I was helping my mom in the kitchen.

My cousin was having her baby shower and we were making cupcakes. I loved my mom even more when she cooked. She would tune the radio to a station that played old 80's music. She moved to the beat while baking and she made it look like a dance.

Right in the middle of singing, "Should I stay or should I go?" There was a knock at the door. My mom turned down the volume and, snickering and wondering if they heard us, we answered the door.

"Can I help y-" The question was cut off when my mom saw the brown wall in our doorway. It was a man, massive mind you, and he had a great beard.

He stepped back and as he did, a very familiar boy stumbled from behind him.

"Harry?" I asked incredulously. He gaped at me, and then turned to the giant.

"Lindy's one too?" The man nodded.

"Excuse me but who are you and what is my daughter?" My mom stood in front of me protectively.

"Ah yea well... best to make a strong cup o' tea first." The giant's voice was deep.

We stared in shock and stood silently off the side as the giant squeezed into the house and settled down on the sofa. It groaned under the weight but didn't break.

"Lindy, this is Hagrid." Harry introduced us. You could see Hagrid's eyes twinkling through his wild mane. I liked him; he seemed gentle despite his size.

My mom scurried off to make the tea. I pulled up some chairs and sat down. Hagrid leaned over to me.

"Probably wonderin' why I'm here. Well thar's no easy way ter say this; you're a witch. An' Harry here is a wizard."

"I beg your pardon!" My mom had returned in time for his announcement. I stared dumbly at him, my jaw slack.

"Wh-what do you mean?" I stammered.

Hagrid shifted, reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a slightly crumpled envelope. He held it out to me,

"Here. This migh' explain it better."

I shook myself and took the paper. The envelope had a purple seal with a coat of arms; a lion, a badger, an eagle and a snake surrounding a large _**H**_.

I broke the seal and pulled out the letter inside. It was written on a thick yellowing parchment like the envelope. It read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of _WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)_

Dear Ms. Owens,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

_Deputy Headmistress_

I couldn't comprehend what I was reading. Witchcraft? Wizardry? Hogwarts? Was this a joke?

"I know you mos' likely don't believe it, but it's true. There's no doubt bout that!" Hagrid read my mind.

"Can you prove it?" I asked. Harry nodded and Hagrid pulled out a pink umbrella. He tapped the side-table and said, _"Wingardium Leviosa" _

The table rose up and floated a foot above our heads. I shrieked and ducked, realizing that it was actual magic.

Hagrid set the furniture down with a slight _thump_.

"Magic..." My mom whispered her hands over her mouth. My jaw was opening and closing in silence, useless.

"See, as I said, you're a witch! Thar's a second sheet tucked in there." Hagrid pointed his umbrella at the letter.

I unfolded another letter that had been behind the first:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of _WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) _by Miranda Goshawk

_A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot

_Magical Theory _by Adalbert Waffling

_ A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch

_ One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _by Phyllida Spore

_ Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger

_ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _by Newt Scamander

_ The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection _by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS

ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

"Say my daughter is a witch? How would we buy all this?" My mom had read over my shoulder.

"Well, witches and wizards from muggle families can exchange muggle money for wizarding money at Gringotts." Hagrid informed us.

"What are muggles?" I cocked my head to the side.

"People that don't have magic." Harry said.

"Miss Owens, if you would prefer it, I can take Lindy to get her school things. Me an' Harry were on our way there when he came by, as a matter o fact."

I could see that my mom was reluctant. I convinced her that I would be fine and we knew that it wasn't a trick. So my mom made me swear that I would be home before seven and that I would look both ways when crossing the street.

I slid my arms into my coat as we walked down the street. Harry reviewed his letter as we walked.

"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.

"If yeh know where to go." Hagrid said.

**I hope you liked it! Please review!**


	3. Diagon Alley part 1

**Hey everyone! It's a new chapter! Hooray! I was being kind of lazy so I buckled down and got it done.**

**I know that there is more in the book chapter, but you all know that "_blah I just wanna be done..." _feeling you get at the end of a chapter. So I'm splitting it in half! I guess the next one will be a bit short :/ sorry. **

**Anyway, This was a whole lot of fun to write! This is my absolute favorite scene in the whole movie series. Its just so bright and magical! I hope Lindy did ok, I gave her a few small lines because I felt that she didn't say much here :/**

**Disclaimer: don't own it, don't sue!**

We made our way to the train station and bought our tickets. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy the tickets.

The train ride was fairly short. I spent it staring out the window. The only thing to look at was a continuous concrete wall, but I had so many things on my mind, I didn't care.

I had been to London before but I hadn't walked around that much. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way.

He complained that the trains were too slow and the seats were too small. "I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic." He said as we climbed a broken escalator even though there was a working one right next to it.

Hagrid led us down a street lined with stores. The only thing that looked remotely magical was a tea and herb shop.

"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place." I didn't get how it was so well known. It was very dark inside and it seemed abandoned from the outside.

It wasn't all too crowded, so people raised their heads to see who had come in. A man in a top hat sat at the bar, which was manned by a bald man with no teeth.

"The usual, Hagrid?" The bartender asked. "Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his hands on our shoulder and making our knees give out.

"Good lord," Tom stared at Harry, "is this – can this be −?" The entire pub was silent. You could hear a pin drop.

"Bless my soul," whispered Tom, "Harry Potter… what an honor." He rushed from behind the bar, took Harry's hand and shook it vigorously.

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back." Everyone wanted to shake Harry's hand, like he was a famous movie actor. I was swept away, by the crowd, from Hagrid's side.

I squeezed my way out of the fray and hid behind an unoccupied table, all the while hearing people introduce themselves. This went on for a good few minutes. One woman kept shaking his hand every chance she got.

A pale man wearing a turban came forward. He seemed nervous and twitched occasionally. I heard Hagrid call him Professor Quirrell.

After the Professor's turn, he was pushed away and Harry was once again, bombarded by people. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all.

"Must get on – lots ter buy. Come on, Harry. Where did Lindy go?" Hagrid wondered. I squeezed my way back through, my foot catching on a chair and I tumbled into Hagrid's leg.

Hagrid led us through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trashcan and a few weeds.

"Told yeh, didn't I?" Told yeh you were famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh – mind you, he's usually tremblin'" Hagrid grinned down at Harry.

"Wait, Harry's famous? How?" I enquired, turning my head sharply. Hagrid shifted uncomfortably. "I don't think now is the best time to tell yeh." I pressed my lips together into a tight line, but didn't argue.

"Professor Quirrell teaches defense against the dark arts." Harry told me as Hagrid pulled out his umbrella. What were dark arts? Obviously something dangerous.

Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can. "Three up… Two across…" He muttered. "Right, stand back." he warned us.

He tapped a part of the wall with the point of his umbrella. The brick he had tapped squirmed and the entire wall of bricks shifted and rearranged themselves into an archway.

"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."

Stepping through the archway was like stepping into another world. Bright and colorful shops lined a cobblestone street. Everyone was wearing robes and people streamed in and out of shops.

My eyes couldn't move fast enough. Everything was interesting; owls flying around and cauldrons stacked outside a store front, barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, quills and rolls of parchment, potion bottles!

A group of boys had their faces pressed up against a window and I heard on exclaim, "Look, the new Nimbus Two Thousand! It's the fastest model!" Behind the glass were broomsticks and the one in front was propped up.

"Gringotts," said Hagrid. We had arrived at a white building. It looked like it was made entirely of polished marble. A creature with a swarthy face and long fingers stood next to the copper doors.

"Yeah, that's a goblin," Hagrid said quietly. He bowed as we walked inside. There was a second set of doors on the other side, silver this time. And written on them was:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

Reading it again and understanding a vague idea of its meaning, a shiver crawled down my arms. "Like I said, yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.

Two more goblins bowed us through the silver doors. Inside was a massive hall, filled with goblins sitting and long counters on each side of the hall.

Some were counting money or scribbling in ledgers. Others were showing people in and out of numerous doors.

We approached a goblin that was merely waiting for the next customer. "Morning," said Hagrid. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe and exchange Muggle money for Ms. Lindy Owens."

The goblin attended to Harry first, "You have his key, sir?" Hagrid began to pull random things out of his pockets while saying, "Got it here somewhere."

He left a handful of rotten dog treats on top of the goblin's book before finally pulling out a tiny golden key.

The goblin examined it carefully and said, "That seems to be in order."

"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," Hagrid added, straightening up with pride. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

The goblin read the letter closely, "…Very well," he said and gave the paper back to Hagrid. "I will have someone take you down to both vaults and then you can exchange your money when you are finished. Griphook!"

Griphook (another goblin) led us to one of the doors leading off the hall. "What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" I asked.

"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."

Griphook opened the door. On the other side was a stone tunnel lined with torches. He gave a sharp _"wheet!" _and a little cart emerged from the gloomy end of the tracks to our left.

After Hagrid stuffed himself in, the cart lurched forward and took off. It gained frightening speed as it hurtled through the crazy maze of tunnels, but I soon came to enjoy the wind that blew my hair nearly straight back.

"I never know," Harry called out, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?" I turned my head a fraction to hear the response over the noise.

"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," Hagrid answered. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick." I leaned away as much as I could just in case.

The cart stopped beside a small door in the passage wall. Since I was closest, I hopped out and helped tug Hagrid out as much as I could.

Once out of the cart, Griphook took the golden key from Hagrid and unlocked the door. A cloud of green smoke billowed out. I coughed and waved the fog out of my face.

When the smoke disappeared, Harry and I gasped. Beyond the door were mountains of gold and silver. It nearly filled the entire room.

"All yours," said Hagrid.

"Hagrid had a small bag and he helped Harry gather enough money for a year or so, all the while explaining to us the wizarding money system. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?" Hagrid asked.

"One speed only," said Griphook. So we piled back into the cart and went off down, deeper into the caverns. I shivered from the wind and leaned into Hagrid's side to keep warm.

The door to vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole or doorknob. "Stand back," Griphook ordered and gently ran a finger down the door. Instead of swinging open, it vanished.

"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped there," said Griphook. I swallowed nervously, "How often do you check in there?"

"About once every ten years," He answered with a wicked grin. My eyes widened in fear at the sight of his pointed teeth.

The vault wasn't filled to the brim with money or jewels; all that was in it was a tiny parcel. Hagrid tucked it into an inner pocket. "Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," He said.

**Heh, poor Hagrid. I bet my mom would feel the same. Ferret alert! Draco's up next!**

**Review please! Reviews=motovation and faster typing!**

**P.S. If you're a reader since the beginning, you probably didn't see the post I put up on the first chapter. I WAS going to have Dean as Lindy's guy, but then my mind started to flip-flop. But thanks to a reviewer/friend, I've decided on Harry and I'll just write a little something for Dean when I'm finished**** :D**


	4. Diagon Alley part 2

**Heyo! I'm just in the zone lately! This chapter would have been out faster if the power hadn't gone out, my keyboard hadn't broken, I hadn't gotten grounded, and if I could have worked on it when my parents weren't here. Yep it's been kinda hectic.**

**Surprise surprise, this chapter is longer than the first part! I was kinda shock at the word count.**

**Disclaimer: I _won't_ be seeing you in court J.K. Rowling...**

One wild cart ride and money exchange later, we emerged from Gringotts and into the blinding sunlight. I had exchanged a 100 pound note and the galleons and sickles filled my bag three fourth's of the way.

"Might as well get yer Uniforms," said Hagrid, nodding towards a robe shop that sported a sign saying Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

"Listen, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the leaky cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He looked a bit green, so we set off for the shop alone.

The witch who owned the store smiled cheerily at us, "Hogwarts, my dears? Got the lot here ― another student being fitted up right now."

At the back, a pale, narrow boy was balancing on a stool while an assistant pinned up his robes. Madam Malkin put me on a stool next to him and began to measure me while Harry waited for his turn.

I blushed deeply when the boy looked over right when she measured my waist; I still was pudgy and tightening the fabric didn't help much. But the boy ignored me and spoke to Harry.

"Hello. Hogwarts, too?" Harry turned slightly to address him, "Yes."

"My father's next door buying books and my mother's up the street looking at wands," He said. "Then I'm going to drag them off to looks at racing brooms." This boy was another Dudley!

"I don't think it's fair that first years can't have one. I think I'll bully father into getting on and smuggle it in somehow." I felt a strong surge of sympathy for his dad.

"Have either of _you_ got a broom?" He finally acknowledged me. "I shook my head and Harry said no. "Play Quidditch at all?" He pestered. "What on earth was _that?_ I was feeling rather foolish.

"_I _do ― Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?" Once again we had no clue what he was talking about and said no.

The boy just continued to talk about something called a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff. They were "houses" according to the boy.

Madam Malkin finished on me and Harry took my place on the footstool. "I say, look at that man!" The boy said abruptly, motioning to the window with a nod.

Hagrid was standing there, grinning at us, and holding ice cream cones. "That's Hagrid!" I exclaimed, happy at the thought of ice cream. "He works at Hogwarts." Harry added.

"Oh, I've heard of him. He's sort of a servant isn't he?" The boy mocked. "He's the gamekeeper," I could tell Harry was getting irritated.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of _savage_ ― lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed." I clenched my fists, angrily.

"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly. "_Do_ you?" The boy sneered. "Yes and he knows more magic than _you _do." I retorted. His head snapped to me, "I'll know more than he will soon enough." He snapped.

"Why are you with him? Where are your parents?" He turned back to Harry. "They're dead," said Harry in a clipped tone. "Oh, sorry," The boy said without the slightest tone of remorse.

"But they were _our_ kind, weren't they?" He demanded. "They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"

As he said this, I realized that he was talking about people like me and Harry. But before I could say anything, Madam Malkin finished Harry's robe and he got down from the stool.

"Well, I'll see you two at Hogwarts, I suppose," The boy said in a drawling tone. A little bell hung in the doorway, jingled as Harry pushed the door open and we fell back into the crowded street.

We joined Hagrid and took the cones he offered. Mine was blueberry and peanut butter and I had to eat it quickly so it wouldn't drip.

Harry was being more quiet than usual, so Hagrid asked, "What's up?" I could tell he was lying when he said "Nothing," Hagrid let the matter rest after that.

We had just left a store where we bought ink, quills, and parchment, when Harry asked Hagrid about Quidditch. "Blimey, I keep forgettin' how little you two know ― not knowing about Quidditch!"

"Don't make us feel worse," Harry said. Harry and I told Hagrid about the boy in Madam Malkin's

"― and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in ―" I complained with a spark of fury in my voice.

"There are some families that believe they're better than us; Purebloods. Codswallop, I say. Some of the greatest wizards an' witchs are halfblood or muggleborn." Hagrid said.

"So what _is_ Quidditch?" Harry asked. "It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like ― like soccer in the Muggle world ― everyone follows Quidditch ― played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls ― sorta hard ter explain the rules." Hagrid attempted to explain.

"What about houses? What are those?" I asked next. "You mean the school houses. There's four of em'. Gyrffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but ― "

"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," Harry said sullenly. "Cheer up, Harry. If you are, I'll make sure to be there with you!" I assured him. That made him smile.

"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin." Hagrid said. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin."

Our next stop was a book store; Flourish and Blotts. I stared up in wonder at the shelves which were stacked with all sorts of books, even ones that didn't have the appearance of a book. Some were even floating in between shelves!

Harry and I found little black leather book filled with curses. I had just laughed at a particular one that I thought would be fun to try on Dudley, when Hagrid dragged us away from it.

"We were just trying to find out how to curse Dudley." Harry explained. "I'm not sayin' that's not a god idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."

We bought our cauldrons, scales, and telescopes. The Apothecary was pretty amazing. I had to cover my nose though; the smell was overpowering.

After that all that we had left to buy was our wands. "An' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present." I didn't know that! I should have known that!

"Oh gosh Harry, I didn't realize it was your birthday! I'm sorry!" I apologized. Harry's face flushed a faint red, "That's ok Lindy. You don't really have to ―"

"I know I don't have to," Hagrid cut him off. "Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at ― an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."

We entered Eeylops Owl Emporium. While Harry and Hagrid looked at the owls, I traveled to the other side of the store which housed cats, turtles, rats, and toads; even some snakes.

Harry picked out a snowy owl and paid for her. I hung back telling them to go on and that I'd catch up with them at Ollivanders.

I had stayed to buy a cat and since Hagrid was allergic, I didn't want to be near him when the cat wasn't in a carrier.

I stopped at a small cage that was in a corner. Inside was a black cat with green eyes, only one year old according to the sign. Her eyes seemed to grow as she stared at me. Cooing softly, I stuck my finger in and wiggled it, but snatched it back when the cat hissed and clawed me.

"That's odd, usually that one gets along with everyone." The wizard behind the counter remarked. I held my injured finger in my fist and continued looking.

But none of them appealed to me like the black cat did. Finally I quit looking at other cats and bought the black one.

She was calm as the wizard lifted her out and placed her in a carrier, but snarled again when I peered in. I smirked and stuck my tongue out at her.

I proudly left the store and marched toward Ollivanders. I opened the door with jingle of a bell to see Hagrid standing next to a pile of smashed wood and an old man handing Harry a long, thin brown box. " ― terrible, yes…. But great." The man was saying.

There was a pause and the man looked up at me; Harry and Hagrid also turned. "Lindy! I see you got a… cat." Hagrid hesitated. I smiled sheepishly, "Sorry Hagrid. I'll make sure she stays in her carrier."

I put the cage in the opposite corner and the man, who I now assumed was Mr. Ollivander, came forward. "If you would hold out you're wand arm." I wrinkled my brow in confusion. "What arm do you favor?" He asked.

"I guess that'd be my left." I said as I stuck it out, palm up. He measured it and other lengths of my body for some reason, but I didn't question him.

"Here, try this. Holly and Dragon heartstring. Eleven inches, brittle." He handed me a wand and I swallowed. What would happen?

I glanced nervously at Harry and he gave a little nod and a waving motion. So I grasped the wand and flicked it downwards. Not even a moment after, Mr. Ollivander took it back and gave me another to try.

This one was Cedar with unicorn hair, ten and three quarters, pliable. It was also taken away quickly. I tried at least five or six more wands before he offered me one more.

"Apple. Dragon heartstring. Twelve and a half inches, surprisingly swishy. Give it a turn." Hoping that this was the one, I made a figure eight and red and blue sparks flew out.

I laughed and Mr. Ollivander smiled wide. "Very good! Well done!" He wrapped my wand up in a brown box. Harry and I paid for our wands and Mr. Ollivander bowed us from his shop.

The sun was low when we left Diagon Alley and returned to the muggle world. We arrived at the train station, our trunks and packages in tow.

"Got time for a bite to eat before yer train leaves," Hagrid said. He bought us hamburgers and we sat at a table that was overlooking the train station. I absent-mindedly watched the trains leave and pull in as I fed bits of meat to my cat, who I had named Lucy.

I dusted my hands off when I finished and cleared my throat, "Why is Harry famous?" I asked bluntly. It had been bothering me all day.

Hagrid sighed, "It's even harder to explain twice…" But he finally told me about You-Know-Who and that he had been hunting Harry's parents. I nearly cried when he got to that fateful night.

Harry was silent through it all. "I'm very sorry Harry." I said solemnly. He nodded but still said nothing. "Are- are you ok?" I ventured.

"…Everyone thinks I'm special," He said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander… but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry ― I mean the night my parents died."

"Don't you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts ― I did ― still do, smatter of fact." Hagrid said with a kind smile.

"And I'll be there too! So at least you'll know _someone_ even if we aren't in the same house." I piped up. We shared a smile and Hagrid stood up to leave.

Harry and I jumped on a train that would take us home. Hagrid handed us envelopes. "Yer ticket fer Hogwarts," he said. "First o' September ― King's Cross ― it's all on the ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys Harry, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me…. See you two soon."

The train pulled away and we sat back down in our seats. Harry looked back for Hagrid, but he had vanished.

**I read back over this and realized that a lot of words and ideas I thought I had come up with myself, was already in the book. It kinda scares me to know that I'm thinking in Harry Potter O_o**

**Please review! I got three wonderful reviews last chapter, let's make it at least four this time!**


	5. Ride on the Hogwart's Express

**Hey everyone! Long time no see! I've been working on my Hellboy fanfiction mostly, but that kind of hit a dead end in the chapter I'm writing. So now I have to go back and rewrite parts of it. I really wasn't in the mood to, so I jumped over to this one!**

**Someone in a review told me that I should stop following scripts so much because it was boring. So I moved words around a lot here (it's a great writing exercise). I think it went pretty well, and still follows the story. **

_**If you'd like some fitting back ground music, I recommend Remember Me by Thomas Bergersen or Can't Take It In by Imogen Heap from Chronicles of Narnia.**_

**Anyway enjoy a nice long, happy, carefree chapter of a Harry Potter fanfiction! (it's gonna go downhill and dark about the 4th book, remember that.)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling is the rightful owner. I'm just here to satisfy Harry Potter longings.**

I arrived home tired and sweaty from dragging my purchases.

I had walked Harry back to Privet Drive since it was on my way home. Mrs. Dursley had been pruning the garden, and gave a shriek at the sight of us. She ran back inside as though we had the plague. I gave Harry a hug, and told him to not let them boss him around. He agreed, and we parted ways.

Dad's little Honda Civic was parked in the driveway when I got back, so I rushed in to greet him. Mom had already told him what she knew, and I filled in a few gaps. At first he complained about the money, but that was easily handled.

Then he was worried about how this would affect us as a family. I told him I hoped it would, and should be for the better. He ran out of arguments when he realized that there was no changing the fact that I was a witch, and would always be a witch.

We ate as a happy family that night, but as I watched my mom and dad laugh and flirt (ew!) I thought of Harry, and hoped that the truth of his past wasn't weighing him down too much. The next month was filled with preparations. My mom was a planner, and loved to organize events long before they happened.

Lucy adored my mom and dad, but was still a bit spiteful towards me. I had slowly gained enough of her trust to stroke her back. Anywhere else earned me a bite and a growl; I loved her.

September first dawned bright and clear. The perfect weather to match my mood. I bounced from foot to foot as dad shoved my heavy trunk into the minivan.

We had to turn around twice. Once when I forgot my telescope (I'd used it for stargazing the night before and didn't put it away), and the second time was when mom forgot her purse. It was a good thing we left early.

"We have to wait for Harry!" I pleaded when we arrived there at 10 o'clock.

"He might have already come, and boarded the train honey." My mom reasoned. I knew better; if there was one of many things Dudley hated, it was getting up early.

So we waited there at the entrance. At 10:30 I spotted Harry's uncle pushing Harry's trunk into the station with Harry following. I gave an excited giggle, and ran after them. Harry's uncle stopped suddenly, grinned manically, and left him in the middle of the station. People shoved past him in annoyance while he stood there looking lost.

"Where's Hagrid when you need him eh?" I puffed as I pulled back on the bar of my cart to slow it down, and parked it next to Harry's, trying to catch my breath. The cart was heavy and hard to push and in my excitement, I'd forgotten that.

"Lindy! Boy, am I glad to see you! Erm… do you know where the platform is?" Harry asked nervously.

"Yeah it should be right here, in between nine and…" I trailed off as I looked up, and saw platforms nine and ten, but nothing in the middle. By now my parents had caught up with me.

Harry thought that perhaps Hagrid had forgotten to mention something, like tapping the third brick to the left. Soon we only had ten minutes until the train was supposed to leave, and we hadn't even found it yet.

Suddenly a group passed behind us, and I heard someone say, " ― packed with Muggles of course ―" Without a second's hesitation, we followed the group of one woman, a girl, and four boys, all had bright red hair. They stopped under the barrier between nine and ten.

"Now, boys, what's the platform number again?" The woman asked, as though attempting to drill it into their heads.

"Nine and three-quarters!" The girl said from the woman's side, beating her siblings. "Mom can't I go…"

"Most certainly not, you're too young, Ginny. Percy, you first and the Fred and George next." The mother waved the eldest boy forward, and stood aside. He strode towards the barrier, and right before he reached it, a crowd of people blocked our view. When they cleared, the boy was gone.

"Fred you next."

The next boy, who was a twin, stepped up, and complained, "I'm not Fred, I'm George. Honestly woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"

"Sorry, George, dear."

"Only joking, I am Fred," he said, and took off before she could reply. I gave an inward laugh, and gave a brief second to wonder what it would be like to have a twin. I'm sure my parents wouldn't be too thrilled.

Now his twin was walking briskly to the barrier, and… vanished.

"Excuse me," Harry spoke up.

"Oh hello. Are you off to Hogwarts too? She asked, eying our trunks. "Ron's new as well." She pointed to the last boy. He gave an embarrassed smile to which I returned.

"Yes. The thing is ― the thing is we don't know how to ― "Harry stammered, so I finished his sentence, "We're not sure how to get onto the platform."

"Don't worry, dearies, it's simple enough," she said kindly. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop, and don't be scared that you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron." She patted Harry's shoulder.

"Er ― okay," Harry picked up speed as he broke into a run, and melted through the wall.

"See you on the platform, shall we?" The woman said, and then she and her son walked though.

"Come on Lindy-bee, we'll go through together." My dad took my hand, and we pushed our way in, my mom close behind. It was like walking through a thin wall of water, and then a cloud of smoke.

I gasped in awe at the sight of the train. Painted red and black, the old-fashioned steam engine stood proudly in front of us. People milled around it, loading luggage, and kissing goodbye.

Harry was nowhere to be found, but I wasn't too worried. We were going to the same place after all, and there were only so many places he could be on the train.

I hoped that he was ok; we didn't know anyone here other than the large ginger haired family we just met. As if on cue, the two red-headed twins from before appeared in front of us.

"Hey, weren't you with that black-haired boy earlier?" The left one asked.

"You mean Harry?"

"You know who he is then?" The right one asked excitedly.

"Yes, I do. Have you seen him?"

They led us to the back end of the train. My dad lifted my trunk up the steps, and handed me Lucy's carrier. The darn trunk got stuck a few times, but I eventually made it to the last compartment where Harry was staring out the window.

"Thought I lost you there for a moment," I remarked, and stowed my trunk away.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave you behind." He said.

"It's fine, but... don't do it again. I'm scared I'll get lost, and end up helpless." I smirked.

We grinned at each other for a second. There was a loud shrill whistle. I peeked out the window, and saw my parents. I pulled down the window, blew a kiss to my mom, and waved to my dad.

"Goodbye! I love you!" I shouted out the window as the train lurched forward. The train rounded the corner, and they disappeared from view.

I sat back next to Harry, and crossed my legs underneath me. We sat in companionable silence until the door opened, and the young red head from earlier came in.

"Oh, hello. Do you mind? If I sit here, that is." he asked, pointing to the empty seat. "Everywhere else is full." We shook our heads, and he sat down, on the opposite side of us.

"Hey Ron." The twins were back.

"Listen, Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down the other end of the train. Wanna come?" One twin said.

"I'm good." Ron muttered. He seemed to turn a sallow, sickly color.

"Harry, did we introduce ourselves?" The other twin asked. "Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you guys later." With a click of the sliding door, they were gone.

There was a pause of silence until, "Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out, and Harry nodded. Ron sat back with a breath of amazement.

"I thought it was one of the twin's jokes. They're always playing pranks on me." Said Ron. "And do you really have a scar from when..."

He indicated to Harry's forehead and Harry shifted his hair to show his scar. "So that's where You-Know-Who ―?"

"Yes, but I can't remember it."

"Nothing?" Ron leaned forward, excited. "Well ― I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else." The uncomfortable look on Harry's face made me smile sympathetically.

"Wow." Ron sat back again, and stared at Harry. I squirmed, my legs losing feeling. The motion reminded Ron that I was there too. "Oh, sorry. Who are you?"

It was like the first day of school all over again. "I'm Lindy Owens. I went to Muggle School with Harry." I held out my hand to the flame-haired boy.

He shook it firmly, "Are you from England? You don't have an accent."

"I'm from America, South Dakota if you want to be specific.

Ron pestered me about America, and the muggle world; I answered as best I could. I didn't know everything about the country, and that's what Ron seemed to want to know.

"What are Muggles like?"

"Alright I guess, well the ones I know are."

"Do they really have a boxes with tons of moving paintings?"

"Um, yes. It's called a television."

"Do they make any good candy?"

"Well, I enjoy Nerds and Skittles. Their chocolate is great too."

Eventually Ron ran out of questions, and Harry jumped into the conversation, "Are all your family wizards?"

"Er ― yes, I think so," Ron said. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

"You probably know a ton of magic by now," I sighed, jealous. "Wellllll... not exactly. I know a few things, but I can't wait until I can beat Fred and George!"

"I heard you went to live with Muggles. What are they like?" he asked Harry. "Horrible ― well my family is, of course." Harry added quickly, seeing my look. "I wish I'd had three wizard brothers. Then I could give the Dursley's a taste of their own medicine."

"Five." Said Ron, gloomily.

"I wish I had a sister. Guess I'm stuck with you Lucy." I cooed, and wiggled my finger at her. A growl emitted from her, and I giggled.

"I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts," Ron was saying. "My brothers, Bill and Charlie, have already left ― Bill was head boy and Charlie was Quidditch Captain for Gryffindor. Now Percy's the oldest at home and he's a prefect. Fred and George like to goof around, but they get by well enough, and everyone likes them.

Everyone expects you to act exactly like them, and achieve great things. But even if I did, what's the difference? They've done it first anyway. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."

He reached into his coat, and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep. "His name is Scabbers, and he's useless; he hardly ever wakes up," He complained. "Percy got an owl for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff ― I mean, I got Scabber's instead."

"Well, I hope Lucy doesn't think he looks tasty. What do you think Lucy? Does he look good to you?" I peered back into her cage, but she just narrowed her eyes at Scabbers. "Guess not…"

Harry told Ron about living with the Dursleys, and how he never really owned anything, "… and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard, or about my parents, or Voldemort ―"

Ron gasped. "What?" Harry said. "You said You-Know-Who's name!" To say that Ron was in shock was quite the understatement. I understood why people said You-Know-Who rather than his name. It sent a little shiver down my spine, and just thinking about all the people he killed, turned my stomach over.

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," Harry said, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn…. I bet ― I bet I'm the worst in the class." I frowned and rested a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I don't know anything either, so you shouldn't worry."

"She's right, you won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families, and they learn quick enough."

Once again it was silent in the carriage. My stomach had just grumbled when a woman opened the door, and poked her head in, "Would you dears like anything off the trolley?"

Harry jumped up while I stood up slowly, careful not to knock into Lucy's cage; Ron mumbled something about sandwiches.

Unusual, bright, and colorful candy filled the cart.I giggled when Harry appeared quite put-out that she didn't have Mars Bars. We loaded our pockets with gummies and sweets, and paid the lady. She gave a dimpled smile, and trundled on to the next carriage.

Harry dumped his candy onto the empty seat in between us. "Hungry, are you two?" Ron stared wide-eyed.

"Starving," Harry mumbled while biting into a pumpkin pasty. "Just a bit." I grinned sheepishly. Ron unwrapped a sandwich, and peeled the slices apart to reveal pink slivers of meat, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."

"Have one of these instead," Harry offered him a pumpkin pasty. "Go on ―"

"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time, you know, with five of us." The tips of his ears flushed a light pink.

"Go on, have a pasty, I've got loads." Harry managed to convince Ron to join him on the candy feast. I relished the inside out pumpkin pie, and gobbled down two Cauldron Cakes before noticing the boys watching me. Embarrassed, I swallowed the last mouthful, and wiped the corners of my mouth delicately. "Sorry, I guess I'm more than a bit hungry." Ron only snorted while Harry smiled.

"What are these?" Harry asked, and held up a blue pentagon shaped box that had Chocolate Frogs printed in a gold swirly font on the front. "Are they really frogs?"

"No, but see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa." Ron said.

"What?" Harry asked right as I asked, "Who?"

"Oh, of course, you two wouldn't know ― There are cards in each box for you to collect. I have a few hundred, but I've never found Agrippa or Ptolemy." Harry removed the Chocolate Frog, and lifted the card out of the box,

"It's Dumbledore!" Harry exclaimed, and passed me the card. An old, kind-faced wizard stared back up at me. I blinked in astonishment when he winked, and walked out of the frame.

"He just disappeared!" I cried out. Harry leaned over to check that indeed, Dumbledore's face had vanished from the face of the card.

"Well you can't expect him to hang around all day," Ron said, absent-mindedly. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again, and I've got about six of her…. Do either of you want it? You can start collecting." He looked over, longingly, at the other Chocolate Frogs.

"Help yourself," Harry said, spotting his expression. "I've never seen a moving photo before." I admitted, still in awe, and twisting the card upside down to see if I could make him tumble back into it. I squeaked as he did and stood up. The miniature wizard dusted off his hat, and gave me an amused smile.

"Never?" Ron looked up from his frog in surprise.

"Nope. Other than on the telly, they don't walk out of them." Harry said I could keep the card, and I tucked it away in my carry-on knapsack.

I bit into my last Cauldron Cake, and closed my eyes in content. The fudge filling dripped hot and sweet down my throat. I spent some time watching the boys, in great amusement, as they braved oddly colored Bertie Bott's beans, and enjoyed the countryside, zipping along outside.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. A boy shuffled in, sniffling and hiccuping, "Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?"

"Erm, no, I'm afraid not." The boy gave a sob, "He keeps escaping! My gran will be so mad at me!" He rubbed his fists into his eyes. I offered a handkerchief which he took gratefully, "He'll turn up sooner or later." Harry tried to console him.

"Yes, well if you see him..." The door slid shut and Ron said, "He shouldn't worry. If I had a toad, I'd be happy to lose it." I gave him an exasperated look, "Ron, don't be rude!"

"I'm only saying..." He held up his hands innocently. "But I guess I can't talk; all I've got is Scabbers." The rat was curled up in his lap, tail twitching in it's sleep. "Fred and George gave me a spell that's supposed to turn him yellow. I tried it, but nothing happened. Here, watch..."

He whipped a wand out of his trunk and held it high. Flakes of it was peeling off and bright silver hair stuck out the end.

"Unicorn hair?" I guessed. Ron coughed, embarrassed, and as he began to speak the spell, the door cracked open again, "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville here has lost his," The speaker was a girl our age with wild hair, and the boy from before stood behind her.

"He came by before, but we already said that we hadn't seen..." I trailed off, seeing that the girl wasn't paying attention to me, but to Ron, "Practicing magic? Let's see it, then." She sat with a flourish, watching Ron expectantly.

Ron was at a loss, having not anticipated an extra audience. He quickly got a hold of himself, and started again.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow

Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

Absolutely nothing happened.

My eyes flickered from him to Scabbers, and then back to him, an amused smile pulling at my lips. "Wow. That was magical." I said dryly, breaking the awkward silence that had grown from the lack of result.

The girl clicked her tongue, "Are you sure that's a real spell? It could use some work. You might want to try some from your textbooks. I've attempted a few, and succeeded, no doubt because of the clear instructions provided. I've already read and learned the books by heart. I'm the only witch in my family, so I was pleased to receive my letter ─ My name is Hermione Granger, by the way." My gosh, she talked a mile a minute!

"I'm Ron Weasley."

"Um, Lindy Owens."

"Harry Potter."

"Really? You're in so many of my books ─ I got a few extra books for background reading ─ like Modern Magical History, and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Art, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century!" She informed us happily.

"Am I?" Harry asked, breathlessly. Hermione nodded a confirmation, "Of course, didn't you know? Anyway, I hope I'm in Gryffindor, I think it's sounds the best by far. Well, we had better go, and look for Neville's toad. I'd hurry and change into your robes soon if I were you; we're nearly there."

She and Neville left, leaving a very befuddled Harry, a bothered Ron, and a disheartened me; should have read my books? Was I going to be left behind, without a clue of what to do? "Were... Were we supposed to have memorized our course books?" I glanced from Ron to Harry, pleading with my eyes for an answer. To my immense relief, both shook their heads and shrugged.

"I don't care what house I'm in, just as long as I don't have to share it with her... Well I take that back; I don't wanna be in Slytherin." Ron stated with a shiver. "That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?" Ron nodded, reverting back to a depressed, moody state.

"What do your brothers do now that they've left school?" I asked, attempting to lift Ron's spirits. I suppose it worked, because he straightened up out of his slumped form, "My brother Charlie's in Romania to study dragons, and Bill works for gringotts in Africa. Oh hey, did you hear? Someone tried to rob a vault at Gringotts!"

My jaw dropped as I remembered my experience at the bank, "Why on earth would someone do that? They must be insane!" I declared.

Ron rolled his shoulders in an agreeing manner, "Yeah, according to the Daily Prophet no one can find them. They haven't been caught! My dad says that they must a really powerful wizard to do it. Another odd thing is that they didn't take anything! I mean, who would break in, and take nothing?" Ron waved his hands about, becoming quite animated in his retelling of the event.

A troubled silence once again hung over the cabin until, "What's your Quidditch team?" Ron questioned. "Er ― we don't really a lot about Quidditch; we don't know any teams." Harry confessed.

"What!" Ron looked scandalized. "Oh you two just wait, it's the best game in the world!" He proceeded to explain the game, my eyes growing wider with every word. I had been invested in Muggle games like soccer and basketball, but Quidditch took the cake for the most interesting game I had ever heard of.

Right as Ron was getting down to the detail of the game, we had more visitors. Three boys entered, two large boys flanking the middle boy. With a start, I realized that one was familiar; it's was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.

"I've been hearing all up and down the train that the famous Harry Potter in this compartment." The boy's voice was just as smug as I had remembered. "So is it true, you're him?" He asked Harry.

"Er, yes." Harry admitted hesitantly. It seemed that Harry was now a bit more wary of what people thought of him. His eyes darted to the smug boy's bodyguards. "This is Crabbe and this Goyle." He informed us, pointing to his right first and then to his left. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Ron snorted immediately afterwards causing Draco's head to snap over in his direction, "Think my name's funny do you?

"Oh, I don't find it funny. You're just as stuck up as I hear your family is, is all." I sucked in a low breath at Ron's blatant insult. Draco's smarmy look dropped off his face so fast, one might have blinked, and missed it.

"You wish you were as good as I am. I know who you are. A mop of hideous red hair, old robes, and a second hand wand? You're a Weasley." He spat out his name as though it were a bite of a moldy apple. Ron's mouth tightened into a scowl, and hid his wand in his fist behind his pants leg.

"Hey! That's rude! I bet you haven't even met his family before. You can't say stuff like that!" My own anger rose to the surface. The scathing look the blonde gave me only made me madder.

"I remember you from Madam Malkin's. You'd best watch your mouth, girl." I curled my hands into fists, my nail cutting into the palms.

"You can do better than these two, Potter. I can help you there." He stuck out a hand, a malicious smile on his face as though he were offering the deal of a lifetime. Harry merely stared at it coldly before backing up to stand beside Ron and I.

"I can handle that just fine myself. Thanks, but no thanks." The tension grew with each word. Draco's hand dropped with the half polite pretenses, "You should take care of what you say, Potter. If you don't you'll end up just like your parents. Hang out with riffraff like these two and that oaf Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."

All at once, we jumped up, me and Ron's face red with embarrassment, "Say that again!" Ron shouted as I said, "Shut up, I am not riffraff!"

"And what do you plan to do about it? Fight us?"

"We will if you don't get out now." Harry stepped forward. Draco merely smirked, and shook his head, "Why should we? We've eaten all our food, and you've still got some."

The goonie on the left reached for the candy with thick grabby fingers not unlike Dudley's. A dull brown flash streaked through the air, and Goyle howled in pain. Scabbers had clamped his sharp little teeth on Goyle's finger, and as Goyle swung his hand about the room, he had to hang on for dear life. Finally Scabbers lost his grip, and smacked into the window. Still moaning and griping, the three scurried out the door. But before the door could fully close, the bushy haired girl from before appeared, and pushed it back open.

"What in heavens has been going on in here?" She adopted a rather stern motherly look as she planted fists upon her hips. I crouched down to pick up the seemingly dead rat.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of um... bad news, but I think he's dead Ron." I gingerly placed the fuzzy rodent into Ron's outstretched palms.

"No, he went back to sleep!" Ron exclaimed as he peered closer. And so he had.

"Sounded like you guys have already met Malfoy before." Ron gave us dubious looks.

"We met him in Diagon Alley. He gave me an odd feeling then. Guess I know why now." Harry answered.

"How do you and Malfoy know each other?" I pestered as I took a seat.

"It's a long story. My dad told me a bit about them. They used to be big supporters of you-know-who. Claimed they were tricked, bewitched into doing it. Don't believe them, of course."

Only then did we notice that Hermione had yet to leave the doorway, "Do you need something?" Ron said bluntly. She turned affronted eyes to him, "We'll be arriving soon, so you'd best get changed. I do trust that you haven't been fighting. If you have, you could get into serious trouble!"

"It was Scabbers fighting, not us!" Ron cried, holding up the rat as proof. "And anyway, we didn't start it!"

"As though that has anything to do with it." She clucked her tongue at us. Ron glared, "Would you mind leaving while we change?"

"I only came in here because people have been acting childish, racing up and down the corridor." She made to leave, but I stood up, "Um, would you mind if I came with you? To, um... change." Harry's cheeks turned a slight pink.

Hermione nodded, left, and then popped her head back in, "You've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?" Ron glared at her one last time as we left.

Her compartment wasn't far, only about five doors down. It was vacant, but two trunks had been stowed there. She politely turned her back as I shucked off my jack and over shirt. I kept my tank top on underneath, uncertain of how much to keep on, and wary of becoming hot in the lengthy black billowing robes. Just as I managed to get my arms through the correct holes, a voice resonated through the room and the hall.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." I gave a moment's worry for Lucy, praying that she would be ok in the hands of a stranger. Beside me, Hermione was practically buzzing with energy.

"Aren't you nervous at all?" I mumbled as I bundled my discarded clothes together.

"Of course, but I'm too excited to worry about that." She gave a quick smile. I, however, took a seat, feeling faint.

"I think I'm going to be sick." My mind began to swirl with the thoughts of a million things going wrong; I could make a complete fool of myself. I could trip, and knock people over. I might open my mouth, and end up burping in someone's face.

Finally, when I got my nerves under control, Hermione led the way out into the packed hallway. It took some squeezing through gaps, and shoving of people, but I found the boys again out on the platform. A bitter wind breezed through the platform, and suddenly, only wearing an undershirt seemed like a bad idea. The three of us huddled together, and fisted our hands in our pockets.

A wavering light floated above us, and Hagrid's black twinkling gaze greeted us, "Over here! Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" We muscled our way to the front of the crowd, "All right there, Harry? Lindy? Is that everyone, anyone else? C'mon then, this way. Mind your step!"

The crowd pressed forward down a unbelievably dark trail. Roots littered the ground, and many of us stumbled more than once. We had only been staggering along for a good five minutes before the path lightened ahead.

"Hogwart's is right up here, yeh'll see it in a sec." Hagrid's voice drifted back. And then just as we turned a corner, the path widened out onto a lake shore. And right across the water was a massive ancient castle, built right on a cliff.

"Ooooh!" Everyone gave a collective gasp at the beauty. Hundreds upon thousands of lights flickered in the windows, and reflected on the lake surface, adding to the enormous amount of twinkling stars in the sky and reflection. The moon was rising just behind the largest tower, casting the castle in a gorgeous shimmery light. Harry and I exchanged looks, his expression of awe and excitement mirroring my own.

"Find a boat, only four at a time!" Boats floated in the water at the shore, unmoored and untied, and yet they bobbed gently in place. Harry, Ron, and I hopped into one, the last seat filled by Neville.

"Everyone settled? Good ─ FORWARD!" With a jolt, the boats slid forward through the glassy lake. Sitting side by side at the front of the boat with Harry, gazing up at the majestic castle, I felt the most odd sense of satisfaction. Leaning over, I whispered into Harry's ear.

"Is it just me, or do you get the weirdest feeling that this is something incredible?" I felt rather childish saying such things. Of course it was incredible! It was astounding, amazing, magical, and so much more. But deep down in my heart, this place felt so much like home already.

"Yeah... yeah, I do." Harry's returning whisper was a bit absent minded. But after a beat, he tore his gaze away from Hogwarts, and met my eyes. My heart dropped when he grinned from ear to ear. This was where his parents went to school, it was where he was already making friends; it was a new start. He had no true home, but now... If I loved this place like home this much, I couldn't imagine how ecstatic he must be.

I smiled brightly at that thought, and reached over, pulling him into a tight hug. He squeezed back and then we parted, staring back up at what would become our new home.

**Whew, that was nice and long huh? I had soooo much fun writing this chapter. Honestly this was one of my favorite parts in the book! Aside from every other part in the book XD. **

**Drop a review if you have the time, the energy, and the heart. I don't mind criticism, but please, do not flame my writing. I understand that it's far from the best, but I really worked hard on this, and I'm just here to have fun, not screw everything up. **

**Anyhoo, it's 3 a.m. and I have to be up at 9, so until next time my young witches and wizards!**


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